Structural Property Improvements of Bentonite with Sulfuric Acid Activation

Abstract

The acid activation of bentonite from Middle Anatolia, consisting of mostly montmorillonite, with a hot solution of H₂SO₄ with different concentrations was carried out. SEM images, nitrogen sorption isotherms and FTIR spectra were used to examine the structural changes of the bentonite with acid activation. Acid-base titration method was applied to determine the surface acidities. The characterization results indicated that the acid activation caused considerable increases in the surface area and pore volumes by changing both the morphology and surface properties. The increase of the acid strength resulted in enhancement both in the surface area and acid sites up to 2 M concentration. For both Lewis and Brønsted acidities, significant increases occurred in addition to H-bonding to the structure.

Keywords

• bentonite,acid activation,leaching,textural properties,surface acidity

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